Worst Trade In NFL History, Pt. II

I labelled the Bears trade for Jay Cutler the worst trade in NFL history. NHot because cutler wasn't a good QB, but because the heavy price paid meant the Bears would be unable to fill the gaping holes in their roster. I will admit the trade has worked out somewhat better than I expected, but my original assessment seems accurate as well. the Bears have been hamstrung since the trade by a lack of talent at key positions, the sort of talent you get cheaply withhigh draft picks.

Now a trade has occurred that makes the Bears trade look positively small time. For those who have been on extended vacation to Bali, the Redskins, a team with a hard-earned reputation for dumb deals, traded three first round draft picks and a second to St. Louis to move up from the number 6 slot to number two, where they can presumably draft the Heisman Trophy winner, Robert Griffin III.

They gave up their first round picks for this year and the next two years, in addition to this year's second, a truly staggering price that is apparently unrivaled in league history. The only remotely comparable deals were the Bears trade for Ccutler, Atlanta's ill-fated trade for Jeff George and Mike Dikta's monumentally stupid trade of all his draft picks (to the Redskins ironically) for the dubious privilege of drafting Ricky Williams.

Skins GM Bruce Allen justified the move by saying the team was "in love" with two players, presumably RG III and Andrew Luck. To put that assessment in perspective, let's consider the team's recent history of QB assessments. Three eyars ago, they were deeply infatuated with Mark Sanchez, but couldn't swing a deal to move up for him. Sanchez has been ok but hardly a franchise Qb for the Jets, a far better team than the hapless Skins. Then the brain trust of Mike and Kyle shanahan and Allen thought a really smart move would be to trade some high picks for Donovan McNabb, whom the Eagles were desperate to unload to make room for since departed Kevin Kolb. The media circus that accompanied the McNabb arrival rivaled that given to Barrack obama. Thirteen games later, McNabb had been unceremoniously benched in favor of human turnover machine Rex Grossman. The Shanahans graciously trashed the classy McNabb anonymously in the media. Apparently he had been insufficiently obsequious to his 32 year old ofensive coordinator, Kyle.

Not to worry, before last season Shanahan announced that John Beck, a career clipboard holder, had impressed him as the guy who could make it happen for his offense. And they had the proven vet Grossman. Beck started three games and was beyond terrible. Grossman played as he has his entire career, inconsistenly.

With Shanahan's Hall of Fame credentials possibly being tarnished, the dark cloud of panic hung over Redskins Park like summer smog in DC. A frantic wooing of Peyton Manning went no where. Seriously, what a surprise. So the team bent over and handed St. Louis a supersized jar of vaseline.

The locla media has been diligent in trying to justify the deal. After all, as they keep reminding us, no price is too great to pay for a franchise QB. What they don't say is successful teams are not in the habit of paying "any price" for their QBs. Bill Belichick, nobody's fool, got Tom Brady for a sixth round pick. Andy Reid, anothe shrewd dealmaker, got Mike Vick, the closest analogy to RG III, on the cheap when he came out of prison.

But the Giants paid up to get Eli Manning. Yes, and for several years it looked like a bad deal. They have won two Super Bowls behind Manning, but the Giants are one of the best at assembling a roster. They surrounded Manning with dominating offensive and defensive lines and elite playmakers. The Redskins? They will have to rely on free agency to patch some of the gaping holes in their roster. That has been a recipe for disappointment if not disaster for them in the past. Does Albert Haynesworth ring a bell?

The sad thing is that the new regime of Shanahan and Allen was supposed to mark a total break form the immediate gratification, throw money at free agents approach to roster building. Ffor two years, it looked vaguely promising, McNabb notwithstanding. Now this.

Maybe it will all work out. After all, RG III is the second best Qb in the draft, supposedly. But asessing college QBs is notoriously difficult. He is not as universally praised as DeMarcus Russell for example. The list of failed can't miss prospects is a long and familiar one. Ryan Leaf, Tim Couch, Akili Smith, Russell, et al. The statistics say it is a 50% proposition. For two number ones, maybe I take that trade. Not for three plus a second. That means you have given up four potential starters, more if you leverage the picks by trading down.

The one thing the Redskins have going for them is the surprising fact that they have an enormous amount of salary cap room, some $40 mill. They can go out and get an impact WR, one or two offensive linemen, maybe a RB and a corner. Unfortunately, they need all that and more. And by the time a rookie QB gets his feet under him, those FAs will be either long in the tooth or gone.

You may want to look at the Packers history. They traded to get John Hadl to qb the team. On top of that they passed on Joe Montana, or however you want to look at it, but they could have had him. At the time it might have meant Joe became a big nothing going to GB, but in hindsight....UGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

That's kind of my point. Projecting how good college QBs will be in the pros is an inexact science at best. Just look at Aaron Rodgers. Who can forget him sitting forlornly in the green room as team after team passed on him. Of course Brady is the poster boy. 31 teams passed on him for the better part of six rounds. He was kind of the anti-RG III, laughably slow-footed, not particulalry athletic, OK arm but no Elway or Favre-type cannon. Like Montana, he just had a knack for playing the position, plus he got excellent coaching.

The Redskins have a particularly bad history of evaluating QBs. they used a high first rounder on Heath Schuler, who was beaten out by Gus Ferotte, another six rounder. They traded up into the first round to pick a guy, Jason Campbell, who most people thought was a second or thrid rounder at best. After a few struggling seasons, they let him go. He played ok for Oakland last year before getting hurt, now is a FA. They traded a second and third to Philly for McNabb, who didn't last even one season.

Listening to sports radio in DC, the level of delusion is so high I wonder if al qaeda has spiked the water supply. All the hosts are absolutely convinced that RG III will not only be a good NFL QB, which statistically is no better than a 50-50 proposition, but that he will be a multiple Pro Bowl QB and lead the Skins deep into the playoffs year after year. It's actually a little scary to see how easily normally rational people can confuse wishful thinking for analysis.

I was watching this intently as the Browns were rumored to be the 2nd team in the mix. I can't see going out 3 drafts and I think that's what killed the deal for the Browns. I've read they would have given up 3 #1's, but 2 of those are this year.

Time will tell, but I think it said for Browns fans H&H and not sold on McCoy if nothing else. Now Tannehill is the name being thrown around here. AAA - what do you think about Tannehill?

I lived in D.C. when they had Hogs a great coach and a good but overrated quarterback.

What a franchise. Hail to the Redskins being played at every bar and club closing time. ( I was young.)

Now, in retrospect, I suspect it was Joe Gibbs putting it all together.
Bobby Betherd came back out here to San Diego a little after I did. We expected great things. We got Ryan leaf and other talent.
Leaving me to believe that many times the wrong guy gets gets the accolades in the talent evaluation game.

by the way one Betherd engineered one of the other big draft pick throw aways from wikipedia...

Entering the 1998 draft, Manning and Leaf were widely considered to be the two best players available,[3] and scouts and analysts debated whether Leaf or Manning should be selected first.[6][7] Many advocated for Leaf[8] and his stronger arm, while others saw Manning as the more mature player. The differences in potential between the two seemed small enough, however, that most observers expected it would not greatly matter whether a team selected Manning or Leaf,[3][9] as either quarterback would greatly benefit the team that selected him.[7] The San Diego Chargers had the third pick of the draft, but traded two first round picks, a second round pick, and three time Pro Bowler Eric Metcalf to the Arizona Cardinals to move up one spot and guarantee that the team would get one of the two quarterbacks.[9]
On draft day Manning was selected first by the Indianapolis Colts and Leaf was selected second by the Chargers.[9] The Chargers signed Leaf to a four-year contract worth $31.25 million, including a guaranteed $11.25 million signing bonus. It was at the time, the largest signing bonus ever paid to a rookie.[10] Leaf stated on draft day, "I'm looking forward to a 15-year career, a couple of trips to the Super Bowl and a parade through downtown San Diego".[8]

I was watching this intently as the Browns were rumored to be the 2nd team in the mix. I can't see going out 3 drafts and I think that's what killed the deal for the Browns. I've read they would have given up 3 #1's, but 2 of those are this year.

Time will tell, but I think it said for Browns fans H&H and not sold on McCoy if nothing else. Now Tannehill is the name being thrown around here. AAA - what do you think about Tannehill?

More...

I find him intruiging. The only real knock is he doesn't have a ton of experience playing QB. He played Wr his first two years, so he must be pretty darn athletic. That's the reverse of the normal situation where an athletic QB is converted to Wr in the pros.

I don't see Colt as the answer for you guys. I didn't understand why they drafted him. He's not terrible, but I think what you see now is about what you are going to get with him. He is pretty polished but limited. I would have probably hung on to Brady and see what happened.

Tell me, do you think Holmgren was going to pull the trigger on a deal with St. Louis this far before the draft? That's one of the aspects of this deal I find baffling. Why not wait until the Peyton drama plays out and see what happens with the fairly long list of FA QBs out there?

Quote from jem:----1998 draft....
----Leaf....
----one of the two best players available....
----quarterback....
----selected second by the Chargers.
----four-year contract worth $31.25 million....
----including a guaranteed $11.25 million signing bonus.
----largest signing bonus ever paid to a rookie.
----looking forward to a 15-year career, a couple of trips to the Super Bowl and a parade through downtown San Diego".

I lived in D.C. when they had Hogs a great coach and a good but overrated quarterback.

What a franchise. Hail to the Redskins being played at every bar and club closing time. ( I was young.)

Now, in retrospect, I suspect it was Joe Gibbs putting it all together.
Bobby Betherd came back out here to San Diego a little after I did. We expected great things. We got Ryan leaf and other talent.
Leaving me to believe that many times the wrong got gets the accolades in the talent evaluation game.

by the way one Betherd engineered one of the other big draft pick throw aways from wikipedia...

Entering the 1998 draft, Manning and Leaf were widely considered to be the two best players available,[3] and scouts and analysts debated whether Leaf or Manning should be selected first.[6][7] Many advocated for Leaf[8] and his stronger arm, while others saw Manning as the more mature player. The differences in potential between the two seemed small enough, however, that most observers expected it would not greatly matter whether a team selected Manning or Leaf,[3][9] as either quarterback would greatly benefit the team that selected him.[7] The San Diego Chargers had the third pick of the draft, but traded two first round picks, a second round pick, and three time Pro Bowler Eric Metcalf to the Arizona Cardinals to move up one spot and guarantee that the team would get one of the two quarterbacks.[9]
On draft day Manning was selected first by the Indianapolis Colts and Leaf was selected second by the Chargers.[9] The Chargers signed Leaf to a four-year contract worth $31.25 million, including a guaranteed $11.25 million signing bonus. It was at the time, the largest signing bonus ever paid to a rookie.[10] Leaf stated on draft day, "I'm looking forward to a 15-year career, a couple of trips to the Super Bowl and a parade through downtown San Diego".[8]

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I had forgotten SD traded up to select Leaf. That has to go up there as one of the all time worst deals. Considering they got basically bumpus out of it, may be the worst. Of course, they didn't give up nearly what the Redskins did. The Bears got hosed, but at least they got a decent QB.